February 9, 2012

GroupM and tenthavenue launch MJoule; Announce Acquisition of Wisereach

Joule expands network to China

Shanghai—WPP agencies GroupM and tenthavenue have partnered to create a leading mobile marketing agency in China with the acquisition of Wisereach, subject to regulatory approval.

Founded in 2009 and based in Beijing, Wisereach is a full service mobile marketing agency offering strategy, creative services, application development, CRM and media buying. Wisereach's clients include Audi, Michelin and Microsoft.

MJoule, as the new agency will be known, will offer full-service mobile advertising and marketing capabilities and will have offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

GroupM, China's leading media investment management group, will transfer all their mobile marketing activities into MJoule. "Mobile is fast becoming a dominant channel for brands to connect with consumers," says Bessie Lee, CEO, GroupM China. "MJoule will ensure GroupM China maintains a leadership position in mobile and continue to provide our clients with a competitive advantage."

Joule, a tenthavenue company and a leading international mobile marketing agency based in New York, will extend its global network of offices to China through MJoule. As part of this expansion, Joule will extend its global mobile campaign management and technology platforms to the region, which will bring all the knowledge and expertise of Joule's global network to China and provide clients with a holistic view of consumer behavior across all aspects of mobile, including tablets and other connected screens.

"Joule has become a truly global mobile marketing partner for many of the world's most notable brands and we are excited to extend our capabilities to China," says Michael Collins, CEO of Joule. "GroupM, already a leader in mobile marketing in China, is an ideal partner for our expansion and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to begin this collaboration."

Wisereach CEO Craig Zhang has been tapped to lead MJoule and will report to Michael Collins.

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About GroupM China

GroupM is WPP's consolidated media investment management operation, serving as the parent company to agencies including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom and Mindshare.

GroupM is the global leading media investment management group.

GroupM employs more than 1500 people in eight cities across China. With total media billings in excess of USD 4.41 billion (RECMA: 2010 Definitive), GroupM is China's top media communications group and the industry's biggest investor in syndicated and proprietary media research and optimization tool development.

About tenthavenue

tenthavenue's vision is to optimize performance wherever people engage with the world. tenthavenue's mission is to be the leading global company to identify and build tailored audiences and outcomes across multiple channels and devices. For more information, please visit www.tenthavenue.com

About Joule

Joule is a full-service international mobile marketing agency that works with many of the world's best known brands. Launched in 2006, the agency provides its clients a full range of mobile marketing services from campaign strategy through implementation and measurement, and has the ability to execute campaigns across all mobile channels. Joule is part of WPP and resides within tenthavenue, WPP's agency network dedicated to delivering specific audiences and outcomes to clients.

February 3, 2012

WPP PLC : Consumers use Out of Home media as sign-post to mobile content

London—A strong connection between branded mobile content and Out of Home advertising has been established by Out of Home media agency Kinetic Worldwide, experts in lifestyle and environments, and sister mobile marketing agency Joule, in the latest round of its research into mobile technology usage outside the home.

The Kinetic/Joule study found that 38% of mobile app users have searched for a brand online or a branded application at a mobile app store after seeing Out of Home advertising. A quarter of consumers said they had been prompted by Out of Home media to search for a brand on a mobile browser, while 17% said they had searched an app store for a branded app after seeing a poster campaign.

The research highlights the growing potential for integration between online advertising and branded technology, and both Digital Out of Home sites and conventional posters. It shows that smartphone apps have become an established form of entertainment while consumers are out and about. Smartphone owners are most likely to use mobile apps or mobile internet browsers when on-the-go or travelling on public transport (see chart below).

Kinetic and Joule also found that 43% of respondents admitted spending between one and three hours a day browsing the web via a mobile or using an app.

With regard to mobile applications specifically 69% of smartphone owners surveyed had downloaded a branded app over the last year; 58% had downloaded up to four apps while a fifth had downloaded up to ten branded apps.

Further, the study showed that branded apps that were either useful to core target audiences, were entertaining, or enhanced a product, were likely to prove highly engaging. It found that 44% of smartphone users have recommended or shared a branded app with a friend, rising to 54% amongst 18-24 year olds.

The study also found that 60% of app users keep branded apps on their phones for more than four months, while 16% do so for more than a year.

Richard Metcalf, Business Development Director at Joule said: "The findings of this research support the notion of consumer addiction to smart devices. As with other habits it requires constant feeding irrespective of whereabouts which explains why mobile internet and mobile app usage is equally high between 'on the go' and 'at home'. Advertisers that are looking to integrate mobile into marketing campaigns will be encouraged by these findings as it shows that Out of Home formats can be utilised as effective touchpoints for mobile interactivity.

We expect the integration of Out of Home media and digital marketing to be one of the key trends over the next decade and our research reveals that posters already play a very significant role in pointing people towards branded apps and content accessed via the mobile web, when they are out and about."

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About Kinetic

Kinetic Worldwide is the world's largest planner and buyer of Out of Home media and the global leader in understanding how brands can connect with people's lifestyles and the environments they engage with. Fully owned by WPP and part of the tenthavenue performance marketing division, Kinetic's expertise and insight helps deliver solutions for clients that achieve ambitious brand and marketing goals.

Kinetic is traditionally an Out of Home media agency and in addition today delivers wide-ranging specialist expertise through its complementary service divisions including Aviator, Target Health, Destination Media Group, Kinetic People, Meta, ALCANCE, Zone and Hi Rezz. Kinetic employs over 800 professionals across 38 offices.

About Joule

Joule is a full-service international mobile marketing agency that works with many of the world's best known brands. Launched in 2006, the agency provides its clients a full range of mobile marketing services from campaign strategy through implementation and measurement, and has the ability to execute campaigns across all mobile channels. Joule is part of WPP and resides within tenthavenue, WPP's agency network dedicated to delivering specific audiences and outcomes to clients.

January 17, 2012

Jonathan Tom Joins Joule as Vice President, EMEA Media

London—Joule, a WPP mobile marketing agency, has announced the appointment of Jonathan Tom as Vice President, Media for EMEA. Based in Paris, France, Tom will lead mobile media solutions strategy and strategic partnerships, as well as the delivery of mobile media fulfillment across EMEA. He will serve as a member of Joule’s global management team.

“Jonathan is one of the few true pioneers and leaders in the field of mobile media”, said Michael Collins, CEO of Joule. “His significant expertise with the commercial, technological and marketing aspects of mobile media will be an extremely valuable asset to Joule and our clients.”

Additionally, Tom will lead Joule’s collaboration with Quisma—Europe’s leading online performance marketing agency—to extend Quisma’s highly successful business model to mobile. Quisma, like Joule, is a WPP agency and operates under tenthavenue, WPP’s agency network dedicated to delivering specific outcomes and audiences to clients.

“I am very excited to help grow advertiser engagement and accelerate the adoption of innovative mobile media solutions throughout EMEA,” said Tom. “Joule and the WPP network together are in the amazing position to deliver scalable and measurable mobile solutions for their clients on a truly global basis.” Tom joins Joule from Microsoft Corporation, where he was most recently the Group Marketing Manager for Microsoft’s Mobile Advertising Business Group. In his eight-year tenure, Tom drove global marketing and product management activities for a wide range of Microsoft products, including mobile media solutions related to display, rich media, video, in-app, search, location based services and m-commerce. He managed the launch of Microsoft’s Mobile Advertising Network across 15 countries including the launch of Microsoft’s first mobile ad exchange in the United States. Prior to Microsoft, Tom was a venture capitalist focused on the technology sector. He holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a BS from the University of California, Berkeley.

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About Joule

Joule is a full-service international mobile marketing agency that works with many of the world’s best known brands. Launched in 2006, the agency provides its clients a full range of mobile marketing services from campaign strategy through implementation and measurement, and has the ability to execute campaigns across all mobile channels. Joule is part of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) and resides within tenthavenue, WPP’s agency network dedicated to delivering specific audiences and outcomes to clients.

January 5, 2012

Joule Launches in France, Opens Office in Paris

Paris—Joule, a WPP agency and a global leader in mobile marketing, has announced the launch of Joule in France. With this expansion, Joule extends its global mobile campaign management and technology platforms to France, which will bring all the knowledge and expertise of Joule’s global network to France and provide clients with a holistic view of consumer behavior across all aspects of mobile, including tablets and other connected screens.

The France office extends Joule’s global network comprised of offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Sydney, and Melbourne. To manage operations in Paris, Ludovic Chayriguès has been hired as Managing Director, France, reporting to Michael Collins, Chief Executive Officer, Joule. “Joule has positioned itself as a truly global mobile marketing partner for many of the world’s most notable brands and we are excited to extend our capabilities to France,” said Collins. “Ludovic has rich experience in developing and growing businesses and mobile offerings, and his leadership will be heavily relied upon as we build our operations in this market.”

Chayriguès has a broad background in mobile marketing and joins the agency from Motricity—a global mobile merchandising, marketing, and advertising solutions agency—where he served as the Director of Business Development. “Although France totals nearly 20 million mobile Internet users, some brands are still hesitant to invest and engage in mobile marketing,” said Chayriguès. “Joule will be able to advise these brands through their entrance into the mobile field, while simultaneously providing a better understanding of this ecosystem and assimilating this new dimension into their communication strategy.”

The France office is operational and has begun to service clients. Joule looks to have continued growth and expansion in Europe and APAC over the coming months.

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About Joule

Joule is a full-service international mobile marketing agency that works with many of the world’s best known brands. Launched in 2006, the agency provides its clients a full range of mobile marketing services from campaign strategy through implementation and measurement, and has the ability to execute campaigns across all mobile channels. Joule is part of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) and resides within tenthavenue, WPP’s agency network dedicated to delivering specific audiences and outcomes to clients.

About WPP

WPP is the world’s leading communications services group, with billings of $66 billion and revenues of approximately $15 billion. Through its operating companies, the Group provides a comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services including advertising; media investment management; consumer insight; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing and specialist communications. The company employs over 153,000 people (including associates) in 2,400 offices in 107 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com.

Contact Information: Michael Collins, CEO Joule, michael.collins@jouleww.com

October 30, 2011

Joule Launches in Australia

Sydney—WPP and Switch Digital today announced a joint venture to launch Joule in Australia and New Zealand. Joule will have offices in Sydney and Melbourne, with an office in Auckland scheduled to open in 2012.

Joule also announces digital marketing professional, Glynn Honey, has joined Joule as Managing Director to oversee the operations in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Honey has recently left Isobar Australia where he was Managing Director. He has over 14 years experience in the industry. Prior to joining Isobar he was General Manager at @WWW where he built the business significantly. He has also served as Client Service Director with Hyro and Online Marketing Manager for Asia Pacific with SAS/Bettermanagement.com where he led the expansion of the US portal into the Asia Pacific region, and established high profile partnerships with companies including KPMG and Deloitte.

With offices in New York, Los Angeles, London and Paris, Joule is a full-service international mobile marketing agency that works with many of the world’s best-known brands and is planning to grow aggressively in Asia Pacific over the next six months.

Launched in 2006, the agency provides its clients a full range of mobile marketing services from campaign strategy through implementation and measurement. Joule has the ability to execute campaigns using all mobile channels, including the mobile internet, messaging, apps and mobile media.

As part of the joint venture, Joule will extend its global mobile campaign management and technology platforms to Australia and New Zealand. These platforms will allow for Joule to bring all the expertise from its global network to Australia and New Zealand and provide clients with a holistic view of digital marketing behaviour across online, search and mobile marketing.

Joule is also one of the leading thinkers on the application of Near Field Communications (“NFC”) and how new technologies will change the way consumers interact with different media channels through to the point of sale.

Rupert Day, CEO of tenthavenue said: “We are excited to be working with such an experienced team as Switch Digital. Their knowledge and experience in digital marketing performance is well suited to the special mobile performance and reporting capabilities we are bringing to the Australian and New Zealand market. We see Australia as a market with significant opportunity where our global learnings and skills can be leveraged. ”

Lee Stephens, CEO of Switch Digital, added: “Primary access to the internet in Australia and New Zealand is shifting rapidly to mobile as smart phones and tablet devices become ubiquitous. Joule’s capabilities make mobile marketing much more accountable than has been possible in the past. It provides clients the information they need to target unique behaviours and audiences on mobile devices.”

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About Switch Digital

Switch Digital is a strategically led advertising and media agency established in 2008. With digital media at the heart of everything we do, we help companies establish a compelling online presence that builds profitable consumer relationships. Starting with your target audience and business goals we develop a strategy to surround and engage consumers in a way that drives them to act. Our team is one of the most recognised and experienced in Australia.

www.switchdigital.net.au

About Joule

Joule is full-service international mobile marketing agency. Launched in 2006, Joule is one of the pioneers of Mobile Marketing. Today, after working with many of the world’s best-known brands, our expertise is unmatched. We’re marketing professionals with deep executional capabilities and are 100% focused on mobile. Joule is part of the WPP Group and resides within tenthavenue, WPP’s agency network dedicated to delivering specific audiences and outcomes to clients.

www.jouleww.com

About WPP

WPP is the world’s leading communications services group, with billings of $66 billion and revenues of approximately $15 billion. Through its operating companies, the Group provides a comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services including advertising; media investment management; consumer insight; public relations and public affairs; branding and identity; healthcare communications; direct, digital, promotion and relationship marketing and specialist communications. The company employs over 153,000 people (including associates) in 2,400 offices in 107 countries. For more information, visit www.wpp.com.

August 25, 2011

Joule Expands Operations to the West Coast

New York—Joule, a WPP agency and global leader in mobile marketing, has recently expanded operations to the West Coast. The newly opened office is located at 5700 Wilshire Boulevard in the heart downtown Los Angeles.

This strategic expansion is due in part to Joule’s recent win of Paramount Pictures’ mobile account. Joule will service Paramount’s mobile marketing needs from the new office, including the creation and execution of integrated mobile campaigns to support the theatrical release of their motion pictures. Joule will collaborate on the account with MEC, Paramount’s global media partner.

To manage the West Coast operation and lead the Paramount account, Joule has hired industry veteran Greg Crockart as Group Account Director. For the past 10 years, Crockart’s career has focused exclusively on mobile marketing in the US and Europe. He most recently served as the Managing Director of US Operations for Buongiorno Digital.

“Expanding our geographic presence allows us to bring the mobile marketing expertise of our global network to our clients in local markets,” said Michael Collins, CEO, Joule. “Paramount, a true pioneer in mobile marketing, is an ideal partner for Joule’s West Coast expansion and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to play a role in their marketing efforts.”

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About Joule

Joule is a full-service international mobile marketing agency that works with many of the world’s best known brands. Launched in 2006, the agency provides its clients a full range of mobile marketing services from campaign strategy through implementation and measurement, and has the ability to execute campaigns across all mobile channels. Joule is part of WPP Group (NASDAQ: WPPGY) and resides within tenthavenue, WPP’s agency network dedicated to delivering specific audiences and outcomes to clients.

June 23, 2011

GroupM Takes Lead on Mobile Privacy Guidelines

When Apple and Google were called to Capitol Hill to testify about how, and why, iPhone and Android smartphones were tracking their owners, the digital privacy debate—which had mostly been concentrated on Web issues—got a little wider. That made an impression on executives at GroupM, who decided that now is the time to set some guidelines for privacy in the growing mobile ad industry.

On Wednesday, GroupM became the first agency to adopt mobile privacy guidelines. Those guidelines would limit the amount of data collected and shared from mobile devices in marketing campaigns by calling for publishers to mask UUIDs (universal unique identifiers, which are on every phone) and giving users the opportunity to opt out of data collection and sharing.

Read the full article at Adweek.com

June 23, 2011

GroupM Offers New Guidelines for Mobile Privacy

New York—GroupM has developed new guidelines for safeguarding the privacy of consumers using mobile devices in a pioneering effort to introduce a high level of privacy standards to mobile communications.

The guidelines are designed to limit the amount of data collected and passed from mobile devices that can be used in marketing campaigns in order to protect consumers from the unwanted collection and distribution of their personal information.

As part of the new initiative, GroupM’s mobile publishing partners will be urged to adopt the recommendations, which were developed in conjunction with Joule, GroupM’s mobile marketing specialty unit. They are part of the WPP media agency parent company’s overall, pioneering efforts in the arena of online privacy. In issuing the new guidelines, GroupM stressed that, as an industry, mobile marketers need to establish fair and aggressive guidelines for the protection of consumer privacy in order to prevent the possibility of government regulation.

“It’s essential for marketers, agencies and third-party partners to establish and maintain consumer privacy protections while measuring mobile user behavior to intelligently target ads,” said GroupM Chief Operating Officer John Montgomery, who was a principle architect of the initiative along with Michael Collins, Chief Executive Officer of Joule.

Montgomery and Collins said the efforts have two primary goals: First, to ensure that personal identifiable information, known as PII in the mobile industry, cannot be accessed via “Unique User Identification (UUID)” mechanisms that are part of mobile telephones. The second goal is to allow consumers to opt out of behavioral targeting of mobile advertisements.

“What we’re doing is trying to take a stance on the appropriate and inappropriate use of consumer information and make sure those basic principles are used in mobile marketing techniques,” said Collins. “We need to make sure that UUID is not used to unlock PII.”

The plan calls for asking all of GroupM’s mobile publishing partners to take specific actions to protect mobile user's privacy by adopting the guidelines as soon as possible.

The guidelines include urging mobile publishers to mask UUIDs whenever possible to ensure a greater degree of consumer privacy, and to clearly display privacy policies for consumer review. Publishers are also asked to explicitly state within privacy policies what information, including location and UUID, is being captured, paired with other data and/or shared with third parties. In addition, publishers should enable and provide notification of consumer opt-out.

GroupM is a leading advocate of industry self-regulation of online privacy. Other GroupM-led initiatives in the privacy arena include promoting the use of an icon that appears on ads that inform internet users that data is being collected about their browsing behavior. In addition, Montgomery was recently named chairman of a new Privacy Committee at the American Association of Advertising Agencies that will address a wide range of Internet privacy issues as they relate to the advertising, marketing and media industries, particularly the use of interest-based advertising. He also testified in March before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee during a hearing on the issue.

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About GroupM

GroupM is the leading global media investment management operation. It serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, and Mindshare. Our primary purpose is to maximize the performance of WPP’s media communications agencies on behalf of our clients, our stakeholders and our people by operating as a parent and collaborator in performance-enhancing activities such as trading, content creation, sports, digital, finance, proprietary tool development and other business-critical capabilities. The agencies that comprise GroupM are all global operations in their own right with leading market positions. The focus of GroupM is the intelligent application of physical and intellectual scale to benefit trading, innovation, and new communication services, to bring competitive advantage to our clients and our companies.

Media Contact

John Wolfe
GroupM
Office: 212-297-7160
Cell: 914-659-8663
john.wolfe@groupm.com